Category: Boards

Condors are my favorite…

The Condors have turned out to be the best all round skiboard I have ridden in my six seasons of skiboarding. Here is why:Carving on groomers is very natural and intuitive after the first few runs.

The Condors have excellent edge hold on extreme hard pack (I have yet to have the misfortune of riding glare ice). They have never let me down on high speed carves or when dodging obstacles (skiers, snowboarders or trees). I do not recall ever sliding out on the Condors. At 110 cm long, they are short enough that they do not go squirrelly if you want to take a short break from edging and just flat-base bomb the run. I suspect the extra width helps the Condors be less sensitive to the terrain and therefore they do not catch edges as easily as narrower skiboards.

The Condors are FAST allowing me to hold my own when racing my snowboarding son.Skating is very natural and I very rarely hit the skiboards together. Since the glide is very good, very little effort is required to get around when skating.My motivation for buying the Condors was my minor struggles when riding other skiboards off-piste that translated into fatigue.

None of my other skiboards provide the optimum powder float for my weight. Also with my longest skiboards, I find it difficult to control tip swing at the end of a long day of riding as my legs tire out. The Condor’s float and length have proven to be a perfect combination for me. Their great float is much less tiring on my thighs since there is no need to lean back. The shorter length means I am not fighting / compensating for tips being thrown about in uneven terrain of chopped powder. With the Condors: I do not have to focus on the changing terrain and be as deliberate in the path I take; I feel in total control of the Condors; and they provide a less tiring ride off-piste. This allows me to get a few more runs in at the end of a long day of riding because of less fatigue. Therefore, the Condors are exactly what I was looking for; more control and less fatigue.

I am an older rider at 51 years old, 180 pounds, 5” 11” tall and consider myself an intermediate rider (foolish enough to go where he probably should not be going) who only gets to ride on real mountains up to 10 days a season. I rode the Condors with modified aluminum Spruce risers and releasable bindings (S810 ti) center mounted.

Rider – Yaroslow – Intermediate Skiboarder




I absolutely love the Condors…

Condors: In short, absolutely love them. Was sad when my KTP’s met their end, but now I love these more then I did the KTPs. The stability and float are absolutely great, and though the stiffness of the KTP’s is great for them, the flex of the Condors is perfect for what it is too. Having put enough time in powder and glades in the last part of this season, I never felt wanting for more maneuverability.

I was quite often taking lines that it seemed the skiers and snowboarders avoided through tight trees, and getting fresh lines because of that. On that note though, being ~175lbs + whatever gear I have on, and if I’m wearing a pack, I was glad to get the powder plates for the setback. I had a few pow days without the plates, and it was very good, though the KTP’s with setback I recalled being easier (I wish I could have tested them head to head). Once I was able to get the setback for the powder though, it all opened up, though I’ll admit I did enough backslapping when I was doing drops.

Rider – Mitchell Kuntz – Expert Skiboarder




BWP Review by Skiboardmagazine.com

Fourth day on the BWPs for me, and they are beautiful. Graphics wise they are a true piece of art, stunning, complex, fun, thoughtful and unique, and reflect the man himself. The graphics are crisp and sharp.

This review could be entirely based on the graphics themselves but let’s move on to how they ride! I usually prefer to ride short boards around 90cm long but this year I decided to go a little longer to test out other boards.

Turning radius wise these boards are tight. With a 4.9 meter turning radius they are perhaps a little too tight for some. Land these boards a little on edges and you’re going to be twirling around. If you are into big air or high speed carving, you might want to look for something with a bit of a wider turning radius.

On the plus side the tight radius worked great in the trees, and wonders for those butters and jibs. Soft snow floatation was pretty good for someone like myself at 150 pounds. With a width at 14 cm, they are on the narrower side for RVL8, but still wide skiboard wise.

RVL8’s innovative “blunt” tips continue to shine on these boards, making them increasingly stable on edge, and on those tail/nose presses. The BWPs feel and look like the big brothers of the Tanshos, which had really steep tips, these are more mellow, and create less drag in the snow on edge.

General high speed riding is good. As mentioned before the turning radius is a little sharp for high speed carves. They are quick edge to edge, easy to turn, medium flexing skiboards. At 98 cm, someone looking for mid-sized sticks that can handle medium powder, trees and creativity on the slopes/terrain park will love these boards.

Rider – Jason Roussel – Expert Skiboarder Co-Founder Skiboardmagazine.com





BWP are great skiboards for new riders…

The RVL8 BWPs are the skiboards to choose when you want a skiboard that can handle the groomers with the added edge of a quick turning radius. BWPs turn on a dime, especially on moguls where they feel just at home. Being similar in design to the Line MNPs, but with added width and more flex, they perform similar to the Line MNPs, the added width gives more stability in all conditions.

This is a great skiboard to choose for someone totally new to being on the snow, wanting to feel what’s it’s like. This skiboard will give someone the full experience of being on a skiboard, and then they can decide do they wish to go to a shorter size for even quicker turns or to a longer size for more speed and more stability.

Rider – Edward Ho – Expert Skiboarder





BWP. Excellent.

I’ll start by saying I was really impressed with the base graphics on these. Great design and colors.

They came with some wax on them but of course I went ahead and waxed them, twice with swix all temp wax ( the blue stuff )

I could NOT BELEIVE HOW FAST THESE BASES ARE when properly waxed. I came off the summitt lift at butternut and I just kept sliding and sliding, even uphill they just kept on going.

But how were they on the rails, you’re wondering ? excellent.

I was initially concerned about the stability on some big airs but I even overshot a couple landing zones and had no problems.

Got a few more stares then usual, I would then remark to the starer ” weird, huh ? ” and they just stand there with their mouth open not knowing what to say.

So If you’re on the fence about either getting the EMP or the BWP, I’d say if you’re more inclined for heaving powder bashing action get the EMPS, and If you like rails and terrain parks more get the BWP, but they both excel in either area.

Rider – Mark Carraro – Expert Skiboarder





The BWP’s are high on my list…

I think these will end up being my go to boards over the Tansho’s, something about the flex is super cool and fun! Jumps and landings are a blast! They FLY down anything! They are STABLE!!!!

They Spin/Butters crazily too! I was impressed by two things theee most: First; going through crud was incredible,these boards had no idea they were riding on choppy snow, fast & stable! Second, the flex. Made it fun & smooth for me! Ok, third, 360 spins, they did just as well as the Tansho’s, but the Tansho’s feel more apart of me, more at home on them.

The BWP’s are high on my list, tied with the Tansho’s maybe!

Rider – Shelley Bright – Intermediate Skiboarder





BWP Skiboards are fantastic…

The 2007 BWPs w/Pro Lites are the first boards I’ve ever owned so there won’t be any comparison with other skiboards.

Background Info: I’m 27 yrs old, decent shape, 6′ tall, 185ish lbs. I wear Dalbello Krypton Rampage boots (mondo 29.5). I am a novice snowboarder, haven’t skied in 11 years, very comfortable on inline skates (skate w/my wife for exercise) about 3 times a week, and a first time skiboarder. My first skiboarding trip (4.5 days) took place down south at Los Tres Valles (El Colorado-Farellones/Valle Nevado/La Parva) in Chile (review to follow) from 25-29 July. Snow was mostly packed pow and temperatures ranged from 25-40 deg F. That about covers it. So here it goes:

These boards were used, but in great shape when I bought them. I put a coat of hot wax on them every two days and they stayed nice and slick.

My first ride down the hill (green run – ungroomed crud) was a little sketchy, at no fault of the boards. Once I stopped sitting in the backseat, everything smoothed out. These BWPs were almost as nimble as my inlines. Their soft flex ate up the crud without an issue. Soon I was on a groomed run and realized the true potential. Edge to edge was seamless and easy…no poles and no problems.

The following 2 days I upgraded to some blue runs (groomed packed pow) and a whole new world opened up. Even at 99cm, these boards were plenty of fast. I constantly had to check my speed. Hockey stopping took quite a bit more effort than on skis/snowboard (not-so-sharp edge probably played into it.)

Days 3.5 and 4.5 were spent almost entirely on packed pow red runs (south american version of blue-blacks). Once again, they performed like a dream on the groomers. I hit a few small jumps and the flex and wide design held up nice on the landings. My friends and I decided to hit a bowl on the other side of the mountain….that’s where disaster struck…

A 185ish pound dude on 99cm boards does not work too well in over a foot of Andean powder. I leaned back as much as I could without falling, but i just couldn’t get the speed (green/blue-ish steepness) necessary to maintain a good line. The boards just kept sinking.

In summary: Absolutely fantastic boards for groomers/jumps/jibs. Highly recommend for anyone riding in that capacity. However, If you want to head off-piste (and weigh over 150lbs), pick up some larger boards. I’m probably going to pick up some Spruce 120s.

Rider – John Falco – Beginning Skiboarder





BWP’s the best investment I ever made…

I am a 28yo male, 5’10”, 180lb with a few years of skiing under my belt. After skiing in a few Northeast conditions this season I can share my experiences:

Crud (hard top layer, mushy under): Just enough float, had to lean back on the heels a bit. It helped a lot when I set my bindings back a tad. This is in no fault of the ski design, as they are just not big enough to float for my weight.

Powder: Very maneuverable, enough float with the binding setback a tad.

Packed Powder: Good God, these things are incredible. Turns on a dime and super-fast! They were so comfortable, and I could stop on a dime. Absolutely amazing!

Ice: With sharpened edges, I had no problems maneuvering through big ice patches. The short length made it easy to transition from side to side and stopping was still a breeze.

Park: I’m not too much of a park person, but the small jumps had very comfortable landings.

Bumps: Easy to maneuver through these guys because of their short length.

Trees: I don’t understand how people go in these things without skiboards! Absolutely amazing. Although there is abundant powder, I sat back a bit on my heels and never had any issues. It was very effortless, and I didn’t even get fatigued!

Conclusion: Best investment I’ve ever made to this sport. These things are light they don’t hurt your legs when they are dangling on the lifts! The sidewall construction helps with springy-ness which is good when you want to pop off small jumps. Very easy to carve and pull off 360s. Skating on flat surfaces is also very easy. Did I mention they were fast?! I always had control at high speeds and was able to stop without any issues. I highly recommend these for Northeast skiing.

Rider – Mike Messana (Riding ’08 BWP’s) – Expert Skiboarder





Bantam skiboards are amazing quality and tons of fun…

These were my first skiboards and I after a one season I have to say, they are a ton of fun to ride! The quality from RVL8 is amazing and the graphics are sweet too. These things are as maneuverable as it gets and you will dominate the groomers with them.

Being small, they do have their limitations. I tend to pick up as much speed as possible when I ride but the limit on these seems to be about 45mph, anything past that gets really really squirrelly. 45 is pretty fast on these tiny things but if speed is what you want, get some bigger boards.

In the park they are good and bad. Since they are almost as small as skates buttering and riding fakie is as easy as it gets. They are sweet on rails and small jumps because they’re so easy to whip around, but any jump bigger than about 25′ is difficult to land on the small surface area.

For bumpy and cruddy conditions, although most will disagree here, I think these are great. They are not what I would call stable however if you learn to ride with the bumps and not over them it can be a really fun energetic ride where you get bounced all over the place.

Obviously they are not designed for powder, if you ride backcountry these are not for you.

Overall I had a lot of fun on these this year, but next year I will be moving up to some bigger boards for more speed and more solid landings on jumps.

Rider – Matt H – Beginning Skiboarder



Bantam: Little boards, lots of fun…

These little boards are a whole lot of fun, If you want total control on the groomers you should get these boards. Because the boards are so small you are able to turn with no trouble at all. Spinning also known as buttering is so easy with these boards. The size of the boards also makes it feel exactly like inline skating. In the park they feel great, you can do inline skate grinds no problem and hit jumps to show off the amazing bases. Altogether these boards perform really great!Joey is riding the Samurai model.

Rider – Joey Anczarski – Expert Skiboarder